This is just an FYI post to help everyone understand what options there are for making bike-related purchases. I purchased an SLX crankset, bottom bracket tool, and a few small items from chainreactioncycles.com in the UK. I placed the order on the 4th of April, and according to UPS, it arrived at AUC (I don't trust shipping to my apartment in Maadi) on the 9th of April. That is fast shipping! Shipping cost me 50 USD. For light weight orders (clothes, small parts) you can have UK Royal Mail do the shipping, which is about half the price, but takes a couple days longer and has no tracking info.
I'll post info on how much I pay in duties after I pick the things up. But so far, it feel like it has been a great deal!
aden Wrote:This is just an FYI post to help everyone understand what options there are for making bike-related purchases. I purchased an SLX crankset, bottom bracket tool, and a few small items from chainreactioncycles.com in the UK. I placed the order on the 4th of April, and according to UPS, it arrived at AUC (I don't trust shipping to my apartment in Maadi) on the 9th of April. That is fast shipping! Shipping cost me 50 USD. For light weight orders (clothes, small parts) you can have UK Royal Mail do the shipping, which is about half the price, but takes a couple days longer and has no tracking info.
I'll post info on how much I pay in duties after I pick the things up. But so far, it feel like it has been a great deal!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I also placed an order with CRC for some kneepads, bottom bracket and brake adapters last week and they ship fast! Not sure yet about the customs fees either but will report how it goes.
The order came in less than a week. The customs were surprisingly high, though. I really can't figure how they calculate those--it was almost 50%. Luckily, the price of the SLX crankset was over $70 less than anywhere else I checked, so it kind of balanced out.
It id usually 30% customs duties + 10% sales tax (on the total after adding customs), then add courier clearance service charge and misc small charges and yes, it can get up to 50%. Crazy!
Funny thing is, it is sometimes kind of random. I paid a lot less than I expected on a wheelset, and way too much more than expected on some brakes and rotors.